Because of the line of work, police dogs have a need to be viewed as tough, strong, and somewhat aggressive. They must also be intelligent and easily trained. Most of the time, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers are the chosen breeds for police work, though Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and Brestons are also popular for the work. They are not only intelligent and easy to train but are also quite attentive. On top of needing a tough, intelligent dog, the dogs need to be recognized in a way that is intimidating to criminals. This is often achieved through the use of police dog names.
Most police dog names are geared toward sounding rough and tumble so that criminals are intimidated just by the sound of their names. If a police dog was named Prissy, it probably wouldn’t strike fear into anyone’s heart. For this reason, when you rescue a retired police dog, you will probably find that the name is fairly aggressive sounding. If your job is to determine police dog names for candidates at the academy, you should take a look at the list below to get an idea of the way police dog names should sound so that the K-9 unit isn’t laughable.
| Male Names | Female Names |
| Hulk Hercules Butch Rocky Conan Bruiser Diesel Chewy | Xena Athena Sheena Hera |